heavy bag routine

[Andre]

Oh and welcome to the forum too.

[WayneFlint]

good advice andre your hands are your livelyhood and nothing is worth risking them, i can say from experience that my left hand is permanently tender and always niggling at my workouts, however i have had lots of bad practice in my time i remember as a kid the first heavybag i got my parents wouldnt let me hang it so i just propped it in the corner and would slug away at it right there in my room, when i think about it now it makes my wrist whimper heh.

[WayneFlint]

sorry andre wont let me rep u, i was going to

[wesrman]

Hey Henry. Glad you finally signed up.

[Youngblood]

Welcome to the forum Henry. The bag is a good place to get comfortable with putting together and practicing punches, combinations etc. As well a nice workout. Only advice really I have is to stick to the basics as you start out with it. High tight guard. Pay close attention to footwork and range. Move around it a lot, much like you would an opponent and make sure you are moving your head as you throw.

One thing I personally don't like to see, is too much choreographed rhythm. I put a vid up a while ago, and a person said I was doing it all wrong because I wasn't using rhythm. That it should be more...tap, tap tap...tap, tap tap tap...tap, tap tap...like music with flow. I don't agree. I think it needs to be more realistic and if anything unpredictable. But then again I hit the bag like I'm angry at it and it owes me money so what do I know.

And don't kick the thing. I don't know. wesrman asked me to weigh in and that is all I got, but good luck and again welcome to Saddos!

[joshbart01]

Hello!

I am new to the forum and to boxing. I'm 30yrs old and needed something to help me get into shape. I'm 6' 4" 292# and need to drop some weight to keep up with my kids. As for my experience I have zero really.

Anyway; I've been reading through this thread and heard lots of great input. So I had to ask a question about the heavy bag and technique.

Andre said something about bending your wrist and never forgetting it.

I seem to be having that problem. I'm only able to put in a few minutes on the bag each day since I got it; 10min for the passed 3 days. I would like to extend my work out and find a good nitche, but each day about 10 minutes into hammering away with 1-2-3 combinations and working my jab I bend my right wrist and don't want to injure myself seriously. I can not seem to figure out what I am doing wrong.

I have searched high and low for technical answers to punching mechanics and the proper knuckle to use, etc. and can't find a definative answer. Unfortunately I do not have the money or interest to go to a real trainer. I am mainly doing this for the fitness benefit. Any advise would be appreciated.

Thanks, JB

[HerbM]

halisray,

You didn't mention wrapping your hands so that would be my first suggestion. Buy 180' wraps and find one of the videos here or on the net about how to wrap them correctly. Always wrap your hands, which includes the wrist, for striking the heavy bag.

Dempsey's book (available download link is posted here in this forum) "Championship Fighting" talks explicitly about which knuckle to use.

Recently we had a discussion here and many experienced folks confirmed what Dempsey suggested: With wrapped hands and gloves, AIM with the Ring Finger knuckle to achieve a 3-knuckle landing with Small, Ring, and Middle fingers.

This is COUNTER to what is taught in most karate/martial arts, where the first two fingers are commonly taught. This not only assumes no wrapping (which the smaller bones of the outside of the hand need more) but also that you know PRECISELY how to align your fist/knuckles with your radius (arm) bone which requires VERY subtle and accurate movement -- probably years (or at least months) of practice before hitting anything very hard.

I have only been using the ring finger idea for about 2 weeks (in boxing on the heavy bag) but already my hand
feels better -- and I seem to be hitting harder, mostly due to better rotation of the shoulder (hand turns over further) which helps release my spine and waist to turn into the punch more completely.

Prior to that, my punches had reached the level where my index knuckle was starting to develop persistent (although minor) soreness.

Harder punches with less injury and more relaxation and rotation are all good things.

The folks here on the forum were a big help -- from recommending and providing links to books, to confirming or clarifying the information there, and offering additional advice.

--
HerbM